Iran moves closer to nuke warhead capacity

Published 6:00 pm, Sunday, February 7, 2010

Photo: SANG TAN

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VIENNA — Iran pressed ahead Monday with plans that will increase its ability to make nuclear weapons as it formally informed the U.N. nuclear agency of its intention to enrich uranium to higher levels.

Alarmed world powers questioned the rationale behind the move and warned the country it could face more U.N. sanctions if it made good on its intentions.

Iran maintains its nuclear activities are peaceful, and an envoy insisted the move was meant only to provide fuel for Tehran’s research reactor. But world powers fearing that Iran’s enrichment program might be a cover for a weapons program were critical.

Britain said the Islamic Republic’s reason for further enrichment made no sense because it is not technically advanced enough to turn the resulting material into the fuel rods needed for the reactor.

Tel Aviv man accused of enslaving women

JERUSALEM — The women tattooed his name and portrait on their bodies and gave their children his name — Savior.

They spoon-fed the bearded, one-time healer as if he were royalty, brushed his shoulder-length white locks, sent him text messages when they were ovulating and slept with him at his bidding.

The man, 60-year-old Goel Ratzon — whose first name is Hebrew for “Savior” — is now sitting in a Tel Aviv jail, suspected by police of enslaving a cult-like harem of at least 17 women and 37 children.

Ratzon, who’s lived this way for two decades, denies any wrongdoing, his lawyer says.

Ratzon’s alleged crimes and unconventional lifestyle have gripped Israel and become newspaper and talk show fodder.

Haitians confront threat of spring rains

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Survivors of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake have had one saving grace: There’s been no significant rain since the disaster.

But that won’t last.

The rainy season in Haiti is deadly even in a good year. Now, in a devastated capital city, the early spring rains threaten to cause landslides and bring about health problems in the makeshift camps where more than 500,000 people are living.

Rain is already falling in some parts of the country, but Haiti’s shattered capital, where most of the quake damage occurred, has been spared so far — a rarity for this time of year, when afternoon showers are common. Steady rains could come as soon as the end of the month, and hurricane season begins in June.

Tymoshenko, who was the charismatic catalyst of the 2004 Orange Revolution mass protests, had said she would call supporters into the streets if she deemed Sunday’s election fraudulent.

But although she has signaled she will challenge the outcome in the courts, she issued no protest call on Monday and canceled two planned news conferences as she apparently weighed her options.

International observers’ criticism of the 2004 presidential election lent significant weight to the Orange protests, which ended with a court-ordered revote in which Yanukovych was defeated by Viktor Yushchenko. This time, the observers’ imprimatur could undermine any call for protest.